World’s Tallest Roller Coaster to Open in 2017

An animation was released last week showing what a ride on the world’s tallest roller coaster will feel like. The 570-foot roller coaster called “Skyscraper” will be built in Orlando, Florida and will open in 2017. It was designed by Orlando-based architectural firm HHCP and will be built by Eufforia. The “Skyscraper” will be built on top of a new 495,000 square-foot shopping and entertainment complex on Orlando’s International Drive. Once completed, the roller coaster will overtake the 465-foot tall Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey as the world’s tallest roller coaster. Construction is set to begin early next year and take two years to complete.

The ride will begin inside of the Skyplex Entertainment complex and then quickly start climbing up the white structure built on top of the Skyplex’s roof. Throughout the next four minutes, riders will experience loops, dives, spirals, and inversions and will also reach a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour. According Michael Kitchen, president of US Thrill Rides, "Skyscraper will not only take riders higher than ever before, but also introduce one thrill right after the next – there’s no ‘down time’ on this four-minute coaster experience. It is an absolute cutting-edge engineering marvel that will deliver pure adrenaline unlike any roller coaster in the world today.” The attraction will have two rows of four seats, but for those who are not brave enough to take a ride on Skyscrpaer, US Thrill rides is also building an observation deck 535 feet above ground level that will be accessible by a glass elevator.

The animation embedded below gives first-person and third-person views of what riders will experience on the four-minute ride.